The Afterlives of Feudal-Aristocratic Formations

The main goal of the project is to trace the afterlives of European feudal-aristocratic formations and attitudes that have remained influential for both symbolic-representational and imaginary- mythical fields within modern democratic societies. This includes a precise definition of the relationship between previous elitist or perceived elitist modes of governance and expres- sion, of artistic and philosophical ambitions towards emancipation and autonomy, and of social tendencies towards egalitarianism and exclusion. With particular focus on the decline and defragmentation of the Habsburg Empire and on the rich literary and cultural historical sources of Central Europe, Austria will serve as an exemplary case study for the investigation of postfeudal models and conceptions. To this end, state of the art theories and methods from cultural, sociological and literary studies are applied and brought together at a new level of interdisciplinary reflection. This will bring new impulses into the today particularly relevant research fields on postfeudality and postar- istocracy and will highlight their transdisciplinary connectivity within the Humanities. In the course of the fellowship, the researcher will systematize and analyze the hitherto largely dis- parate research along specific socio-historical strands and points of connection, and will demon- strate the concrete applicability of his hypotheses. In the first phase at the Department of Liter- ature, Art and Media Studies at the University of Constance, the project will be focused on its theoretical and methodological basis, concentrating on classical sociological theories of Norbert Elias (on courtly society) and Pierre Bourdieu/Monique de Saint Martin (on modern elites and nobility) as well as on cultural scientific concepts as those by Aby Warburg (iconology, afterlife) or Jurij Lotman (semiosphere, sujet). A selection of historical, literary and artistic sources will be examined against this theoretical background. The return phase at the Central European Uni- versity in Vienna will provide substantial inputs from historical and historiographical perspec- tives, provided by the interdisciplinary and international expertise of the History Department and its Central European orientation. The research topics will be significantly developed in two directions during the project period: First, collaboratively, the proposed hypotheses will be discussed in an international workshop, presented in a volume and further developed into an international project proposal. Second, an essential foundation will be laid for a monograph, in which the methodological tools will be applied to sources from Central Europe and Austria in particular.

The main goal of the project was to trace the afterlives of European feudal-aristocratic formations, ideas and attitudes that have remained influential for both symbolic-representational and imaginary-mythical fields within modern democratic societies. This included a precise definition of the relationship between previous elitist or perceived elitist modes of governance and expression, of artistic and philosophical ambitions towards emancipation and autonomy, and of social tendencies towards egalitarianism and exclusion. The research topics were significantly developed in two directions during the project period: First, collaboratively, the proposed hypotheses were discussed and presented among colleagues and in public, published in several publications and further developed into an international project proposal. Second, an essential foundation was aid for a monograph, in which the methodological tools will be applied to sources from Central Europe and Austria in particular. With particular focus on the decline and defragmentation of the Habsburg Empire and on the rich literary and cultural historical sources of Central Europe, Austria served as an exemplary case study for the investigation of postfeudal models and conceptions. To this end, state of the art theories and methods from cultural, sociological and literary studies were applied and brought together at a new level of interdisciplinary reflection. The aim was to bring new impulses into the today particularly relevant research fields on postfeudality and postaristocracy and to highlight their transdisciplinary connectivity within the Humanities. The motivation and urgency of carrying out this project lied and is still lying in the fact that today, we are confronted with challenges of great contemporary significance: positions and debates that until recently seemed to pertain to bygone eras have been currently invested with a new, often overtly threatening vehemence. In various ways, we are witnessing a resurgence of 'pre-democratic' forms of the demonstrations of power, attitudes and narratives. Especially since the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the attempts to justify it historically, 'neo-imperial' threats have reemerged. On the other hand, large US corporations seem to be codifying policies of 'refeudalisation' or 'technofeudalisation'. Allegations against 'elites' are shaping public debates. This process of (extremist) reactivation of old narratives and tropes in different strata of modern societies is complex, highly controversial and in many respects extremely dangerous for the continued existence of democracies and their achievements: their national constitutions, legal systems and freedom of the press and the sciences. It is necessary to thoroughly reflect on these processes in order to achieve a deeper understanding and a basis for fruitful further, future-oriented discussions.